Supertramp singer has strong connection to music

“Lord Is It Mine” is one of my favorites, as is “Only Because of You” both songs to God.

Q: Do you consider yourself a musician or a writer?

A: I’d say I have been blessed with the gift and passion to be able to express my heart and soul through music, whether it be with an instrument, my unique voice, producing albums, or through the creative process of songwriting.

Songwriting is an amazing process and feeling. For me the music always comes first. There are usually a few lines of lyrics that come at the same time. For a two- or three-week period, I sing the new song every opportunity I get. It’s like a brief love affair, the emerging song just goes round and round in my head the whole time. It has that consuming quality to it, like falling in love. The structure and melody come to me relatively quickly — the lyric usually takes much longer.

I do realize I have written some wonderful songs and have an ability for writing great melodies, but I think the reason these songs have stood the test of time so well is because they came from a very pure place and were not contrived. I never sat down to try and write a hit song. Music was where I went to be alone to express my deepest emotions, my deepest longing, my deepest pain and joy and questions. And I think that is why the songs have endured so well over time.

Q: When did you start composing?

A: The guitar was my first instrument. My father had an old acoustic guitar that I used to drool over, but he never used to let me touch it. When my parents divorced, it was his parting gift to me. I was 12 at the time and took this guitar with me to boarding school in England. The moment I got it into my hands, my life changed forever. A teacher showed me three chords and every spare moment, even between classes, I would go and play it. Within a year, I actually did my first concert at school of all original songs. So I got the bug very, very quickly and started writing songs immediately.

I took an interest in piano when I was 16. I was primarily self-taught and developed my own piano playing technique. I have always experimented with different sounds. My original demo for “Dreamer,” for instance, was recorded on a two-track. I was at my mothers house and did not have any percussion, so you can hear me banging boxes and lampshades on there.

At 17, I don’t know why, but I was driven to find a pump organ, which is a harmonium. It’s like an organ that you play with your feet. I found one in the backroom of this old lady’s house covered in cobwebs. I bought it for 24 pounds, took it home, cleaned it up and proceeded to write many songs on it — “Breakfast in America,” “Soapbox Opera,” “It’s Raining Again,” “Two of Us,” even part of “Fools Overture” and “The Logical Song.” It had that magical quality to it that helped me lose myself in the sound of the instrument. It still does; I still have it at my studio. The sound on the recording of “Breakfast in America” is this harmonium and a grand piano combined.